Battle of the Indonesian Wines...

[Banana72]

Granted, our taste buds and likes maybe different, but I'm still curious what you think and/or how you rate different Indonesian wines.

I've personally had:

1. Hatten: The red, not drinkable in my opinion. The whites (both aga and Alexandria) a tad tart, but drinkable, especially if they're really cold. Same with the rose.
2. Two Islands: All drinkable. the Chardonnay, Riesling are quite nice for the early 2016 price (around 195-210K if I'm not mistaken...). The reds, while a bit thin, still much more drinkable than Hatten's red.
3. Artisan: Chardonnay was great for the price (Rp 200,000 around 2015...but I'm sure it's more expensive now).

I'm curious about a few newcomers...(or some of the not so new ones).
1. Sababay.
2. Plaga
3. Cape Discovery.

 

[atlantis]

Sababay Red Reserve is perhaps the best of the their whole production but won't have you raving about Indonesian wines. I've been selling a couple of palettes of it and no-one got poisoned so far. Headaches however... Anyway, we also sell Paramex and the like in bulks so it is not an immediate concern to me.

Plaga? Well... to remain polite... it's nowhere near anything I would call good. I remember when I first tried it. It was an int'l F&B fare: gorgeous SPG, super loud music and tons of ice allowing to serve a near frozen wine. When you see this kind of decorum you know that the wine is sh1t and that you will get more pleasure chatting with the girls than sipping what they are selling. One thing save the wine: its price. I don't know what you'd be paying for it in JKT but we've been wholesaling it at just Rp 160.000 / bottle last year. In 2016 I took a new resolution: only proposing quality stuff to our clients: Exit Plaga.

 

[Banana72]

Atlantis, you're one of the first person I thought when I posted this thread

Wow, can't even imagine Plaga being worse than Hatten! Is it bad all across the board?

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a few Artisans/Two Islands for a good price (if I dream a little, maybe Manado's wholesale price in JKT )

I vaguely remember tasting Sababay but not impressed..then again, this was back in 2012 (I think) when I barely adjusting to Indonesia (and I hadn't lowered my wine standard yet....)

 

[Puspawarna]

Every time I see this thread title, I read it as "Battle of the Indonesian Wives."

 

[jukung11]

I have had Plaga Cabernet sauvignon. It was horrible! It was easily the worst wine I have ever had. It had a moldy or rotten sort of hint to it. It wasn't a bad cork because there is no cork. It was perfectly sealed.
To give you a view into my level of taste, I am normally happy drinking cheap boxed wine and anything above that is a treat. Almost all wine is drinkable to me. The only wine I can ever think to classify as just bad is spoiled and Plaga. I would rather be sober than drink that.

 

[Davita]

The only reason Indonesian wine is even contemplated is because of the heavy import duty on foreign wine. It is cheap by comparison as not so heavily taxed.

I read that France had put a quota on imported Indonesian palm oil...when questioned by the RI Minister the response was..."reduce your tax on our wine and we'll talk."

Vive la République...and.....appellation controlée.

 

[Smallworld]

/...

I read that France had put a quota on imported Indonesian palm oil...when questioned by the RI Minister the response was..."reduce your tax on our wine and we'll talk."

Vive la République...and.....appellation controlée.

......Touché

 

[sumyunggai]

I buy boxes of Sababay Black Velvet. It's not good enough that you'd want to drink a whole bottle, but a glass or two is ok. It's still more expensive than good wine in Europe, but it's much cheaper than imported wine here

 

[scouser59]

indo wines are a rip off ! and poor quality.

 

[Banana72]

I have had Plaga Cabernet sauvignon. It was horrible! It was easily the worst wine I have ever had. It had a moldy or rotten sort of hint to it. It wasn't a bad cork because there is no cork. It was perfectly sealed.
To give you a view into my level of taste, I am normally happy drinking cheap boxed wine and anything above that is a treat. Almost all wine is drinkable to me. The only wine I can ever think to classify as just bad is spoiled and Plaga. I would rather be sober than drink that.

Wow THAT bad eh? Have you tried Hatten red? To me that was pretty tart...but I guess tart can't really beat moldy and rotten!

 

[Banana72]

I buy boxes of Sababay Black Velvet. It's not good enough that you'd want to drink a whole bottle, but a glass or two is ok. It's still more expensive than good wine in Europe, but it's much cheaper than imported wine here

Well, I have passed my 'drink the whole bottle' days quite a while ago...two full glasses is my limit, so I guess that's okay. Just curious if it's not that good, any reason why you bought boxes of them? (good discount?)

 

[Davita]

Every time I see this thread title, I read it as "Battle of the Indonesian Wives."

That might be an interesting thread......it would surely be more scintillating than the familiar "Battle of the Indonesian Whines."

 

[Banana72]

Every time I see this thread title, I read it as "Battle of the Indonesian Wives."

Wives battling each other or wives vs husbands? Cause if it's the latter..there's no such thing, the husbands would've lost before the battle even started lol

 

[sumyunggai]

Well, I have passed my 'drink the whole bottle' days quite a while ago...two full glasses is my limit, so I guess that's okay. Just curious if it's not that good, any reason why you bought boxes of them? (good discount?)

Well I tried some boxed Californian stuff, the sort of stuff I guess goes for around $2/bottle in the US, and it was more expensive and wasn't any better. I guess I could get some better wine for around 300,000IDR/bottle but that price would still likely be mass-produced, and three times the cost of the boxed Indonesian wine (400,000 IDR for 3l (4 bottles worth)). Also the 3l box is more convenient than bottles, as I only go to a place where they sell wine/spirits maybe every two months.

So basically it's only indifferent, but it costs 1/3 the cost of also indifferent imported wine.